Your Co-op

Central England Co-op collects over 25,000 items in just two weeks as part of Easter Foodbank Appeal in Lichfield

Central England Co-operative customers and members in Lichfield have helped donate over 25,000 items as part of an Easter Foodbank Appeal.

The Society hosted the special two-week campaign drive in an effort to help those in need and provide emergency food and support to individuals and families in crisis.

Colleagues at over 180 food stores across 16 counties used already strong connections with local foodbank providers to encourage people to drop off one or more items – resulting in an amazing response.

Over 12,000 items were donated a week and, in total, over 25,000 items were collected in just 14 days over Easter.

This great example of co-operation in the community has resulted in the creation of over 2,200 food parcels, which are made up of around 11 items and will provide at least three days worth of meals for those in need.

This will mean, as a result of this campaign alone, that over 7,000 meals have been created thanks to the generosity of customers and members.

An amazing 10 % of the final total was collected in Lichfield from a range of stores including ones in Boley Park.

Martyn Cheatle, Central England Co-operative Chief Executive, said: “We have been overwhelmed with the fact that in just two weeks we have had enough food donated to create 7,000 meals for people in need and make a real difference in our communities.

“Following the success of the Easter Foodbank Appeal, we want to appeal to our customers and members to continue to support our foodbanks throughout 2018 to help provide meals for people in need across the area all year round.

“Everyone at Central England Co-op would like to thank our members and customers in Lichfield for their generosity and supporting us in this project.”

An average of six items were donated per bag left in one of the Society foodbanks and this included items such as tea, sugar and cereals to other essentials such as toiletries and hygiene products to ensure people can maintain their dignity during times of crisis.

This latest donation comes after the Society recently collected over 60,000 items as part of its successful Christmas Foodbank Appeal – which helped create over 16,000 meals.

Central England Co-op works all year round with over 50 different foodbank partners after the scheme was initially launched during Christmas 2013.

The store foodbanks have resulted in thousands of people every month from Birmingham to Norfolk being given enough food to cook meals.

Central England Co-operative is proud of its reputation for ethical business practices and corporate responsibility. It is a member of Business in the Community, the membership organisation that stands for responsible business, and has also won many business awards for excellence. The Society supports a number of charities including Dementia UK and invests a percentage of its trading profit into local communities.

Becoming a member of Central England Co-operative offers a whole host of benefits ranging from collecting points every time you spend in store to earn a share of the profits, access to members activities and community initiatives including the Community Dividend Fund, which hands out grants of up to £5,000 to charities and good causes across the Society’s trading estate.